Rolling machine



Dec. 29, 1953 L. B. HENDERSON ROLLING MACHINE Filed June 25, 1947 INV'A/T Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED PATENT 'ROLLING MACHINE lLeonard'Bayli'ie l-Ienderson, "Olton, England .Application ,June A25, 1947,Serial .N o. 1756,841

Claims priority,l application 'Great" Britain June 29, 1946 l rIhis.invention lrelates to #rolling machinesgparticularly of the typecomprising ;aplura=lity of roll stands, such as, for successivelyshaping or Working a strip or length of metal. Ordinarily all the rollsare geared'together so that thezdrive is transmitted from ,or through-one ,roll set to another and many objections are thereby lpre-r sented.The present invention'has for its Vobject to vprovidefmeans'for readilyassembling anddisassembling the -vitalparts of ka rolling machine inwhich a roll set orstand-can be -displaced'without inter-fering Awiththe -driveto'other `roll sets, sof-that such opera-tions taking place onvone 4passage of the Workepiece throughrthe machine, can be considerablyvaried.

According to the present invention, theiolling machine isv provided witha machine bed 4frame having a substantially horizontal top surface, adrive shaft mounted in bearings above, centrally of said surface andlongitudinally thereof, worm gears seated on said drive shaft and atintervals therealong, and a roll stand forming a unitary structuredetachably mounted on the surface of the machine bed frame, the standsupporting by means of roll shafts the rolls adapted to be detachablycoupled with a worm gear on the longitudinal shaft by means of a wormWheel seated on one of said roll shafts, and means registering the rollstand on the aforesaid top surface so that the Worm Wheel on the rollstand will mesh with the Worm gear on the longitudinal drive shaft.Thus, all roll stands are automatically positioned in alignment Witheach other. The arrangement is conveniently carried out so that when theroll stand is correctly positioned and registered on the bed frame, thegearings (Worm and worm wheel) are simultaneously placed intointermeshing engagement.

A worm on the longitudinal shaft is adapted to mesh with a worm wheel ona roll shaft mounted on the roll stand, The bed frame and the roll standframe have, respectively, interfitting formations in the form ofprojections and recesses or grooves to register the roll stands incorrect alignment with each other and in correct position to the bedframe to ensure meshing of the aforesaid gearings. The roll stands areinterchangeable With stands for effectuating Welding, punching or likeoperations.

Each roll stand is thus driven independently from a driving member whichmay comprise a single drive shaft extending longitudinally along the rowof roll stands. With this arrangement the drive for one roll set has notto be passed through the drive of another roll set, thereby 17.Claim.(Cl. .18o-35) ensuring .tthat undue ystrain 'isf not rplaced on'thedriving gear, The drive shaft is geared tto :the

roll-:shaftssin Ysuch amanner `that any roll-stand can be memoired4'when required, 4Without Yinterfering with the Working of thevotherro'll fsets.

Any other type of ymachine such :asvfor perforating, shearing orweldin'gthe workpiece'mayfbe worm 4 on the drive shaft I.

substituted for :fa roll :stand 'sand rsuch machine driven` from thedrive shaftaoriby separate means, thereby-enabling :any desired sequence"of @operations fto be :effected .on 'one' passage of A'the `iWork--piece, --through the machine. s

.-In .order .thatpthe invention :may y*be clearly understood and.readily :carried :into veffect, ref- 1 erence may :be had fto theyaccompanying draw-- ings, in which: I

@Figure 1 .is a side-,elevation :of :a rolling .'mill constructedaccording ito 'this invention, and Figure 2 is a front elevation of aportion of the machine.

According to one form of the invention, a longitudinal driving shaft Iis mounted in pedestal bearings 2 fixed on a bed frame 3 and worm gears4 are mounted on this horizontally arranged shaft at predeterminedintervals therealong. The bed frame 3 and driving shaft l and gear 4thereon thus constitute a unitary structure. Roll stands A each of whichis selfcontained, are detachably mounted on the bed 3, such standscomprising frames having side members 5 in which are mounted a pair ofroll shafts, the lower roll shaft 6, between the side members 5 carryinga worm Wheel 'I splined to said lower roll shaft, which worm wheel Imeshes with a Both roll shafts of a pair are mounted in journal blockscarried by the side members 5 and the upper roll shaft 8 is normallyfree to rotate in the journals so that the upper roll can benonrotatably fixed on the shaft. The roll stands A are fixed on the bed3 by holding down bolts, and the foot or bottom foot of each side member5 has a slot or mortise 9 for engaging a tennon I 0 on the bed tocorrectly position the roll stands in alignment and in correct positionfor the meshing of the worm 4 and Worm wheel 1. Thus any number of rollstands can be arranged over the drive shaft I and any particular rollstand can be readily removed Without affecting the operation of theother roll stands. The roll stand A is thus a unitary constructionincorporating gearing for transmitting the drive to the roll shaft fromthe driving shaft, and when the roll stand is positioned on the bedframe 3, the gearing on the two unitary structures are simultane- 3ously placed in mesh. The side members 5 of each stand areinter-connected by the cross member or web 5a at a level above the lowerroll shaft 6 and such web has a hole 5b therein for anchoring a liftingdevice thereto by means of which the roll stand may be removed invertical movement whereby said Worm Wheel is brought out of mesh withits worm with inherent disengagement from its worm drive. In place of aroll stand any other machine can be fitted and arranged to be drivenfrom a worm on the drive shaft, for instance a strip of metal can beperforated, rolled into a tube and the joint welded in a single passthrough the machine. The upper roll of a pair is free to roll on its ownpitch circle but when necessary the two shafts of a pair may be gearedtogether so that the upper roll is driven,

which arrangement may be required at the finishing end to assist inpulling the work through the pass. Rolls may be mounted on one or bothends of the roll shafts projecting laterally from the roll stand.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is:

A rolling machine comprising a bed having a top surface, spaced bearingsseated on said top surface, a single driving shaft supported at spacedpoints by said bearings, mortise or tenon means on said surface at eachside of said shaft and between said spaced bearings, a worm disposedbetween said spaced bearings and mounted for drive on said shaft, aself-contained roll stand forming a unitary structure detachably mountedon said top surface, said stand comprising a pair of upright sidemembers one on each side of said shaft and each having a bottom footprovided with mortise or tenon means intertting corre- 4 spondingly withthose of said surface for engagement upon vertical assembly movement,upper and lower roll shafts extending across and beyond said sidemembers, journals in said side members for said roll shafts, whereby thelatter have respective ends projecting beyond both said side members formounting rolls thereon, reinforcing means extending between said sidemembers and interconnecting the latter at a level above said lower rollshafts so that an open space is provided between said bottom feet ofsaid side members and directly above said driving shaft and said lowerroll shaft, a worm wheel splined to the lower roll shaft and positionedintermediate said side members and engaging said worm of said drivingshaft, the interfitting tenori and mortise means and the position ofsaid worm and said worm wheel, which allow for vertical movement of saidworm wheel out of mesh with its worm being such that said self-containedroll stand may be vertically removed with inherent disengagement fromits worm drive.

LEONARD BAYLIFFE HENDERSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 275,856 Reese Apr. 17, 1883 276,743 Andrew May 1, 1883 323,100Baker July 28, 1885 351,841 Lenox Nov. 2, 1886 718,476 King et al. Jan.13, 1903 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 373,720 Great Britain June2, 1932 492,716 France Nov. 5, 1918

